Howard Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 183 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Tower were worth $1,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 269.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in American Tower by 431.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $215.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho cut their target price on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.79.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares in the company, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

American Tower Stock Down 0.5 %

AMT stock opened at $191.32 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $185.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.73, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. American Tower Co. has a fifty-two week low of $170.46 and a fifty-two week high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. American Tower’s payout ratio is 273.42%.

About American Tower

American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 224,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of U.S. data center facilities.